The C Word
Entertainment Media Show (Collectormania London)
Conventions. Whether you're looking for a more interactive relationship with your favorite TV show or just an avid autograph hunter, conventions have become an important part of the viewer experience, so I thought I'd go along to the Entertainment Media Show and find out just what makes conventions so popular.
Arriving at 9:30, half an hour after opening, I expected to find a long queue trailing down the side of the building, but I’d thought ahead and bought advance tickets (£12.00 early entry before 11am / £6.00 standard entry after 11am) and walked straight in. Rule number one: It pays to buy advance tickets!!Past events had left my bank manager ringing me up asking why there was a gaping white hole in my bank account and so this time I’d come prepared. Armed with a list of exactly who I wanted to see and how much it was going to cost, I flicked open the weekend program and made my plan.
With autographs ranging from £10 - £45 things could get expensive very quickly, so I had my budget and had to stick to it.
With its seemingly never ending list of Doctor Who actors, the Entertainment Media Show felt more like a Doctor Who convention than an event covering everything from television and film actors to comic book artists and well known sporting heroes.
Top of my list was the awesome Arthur Darvill, who plays popular companion Rory Williams in the most recent series of Doctor Who and I was not surprised to find that, only half an hour after the doors opened, Arthur’s virtual ticket was already at 488. In the past, a virtual ticket number like that would have had me worried that I wasn’t going to meet him, but an hour later I’d had my few minutes with "Mr Pond" and was busy adoring the flamboyant signature and very Rory-esque quote in my autograph book. I’d never known a virtual queue to move so fast.
I should explain; virtual queues are exactly what they say they are. As soon as you get into the exhibition space go to the actor, artist or sports star you want to meet and, if it's not an open queue, you'll be given a little slip of paper with a number on it so that you can come back when you’re number is posted up on the board, but keep checking those numbers; at EMS the virtual queues moved pretty quickly and I managed, on both days, to get all my autographs by lunchtime which left me the rest of the afternoon to explore.
Even though EMS was smaller than London Film and Comic Con, their use of space meant that I didn’t quite manage to work my way around the seemingly endless rows of market stalls selling everything from retro games, dvds and plush toys to screen accurate replicas and costuming.
One stall worth noting though is ‘Green Goo Gizmos’. No matter how many lists I make or how well I try to keep to my budget, there’s always something at the Green Goo stall that I just have buy. This time it was a cute little Trueblood Merlotte's Bar t-shirt and the whole new costume idea that came with it. Yes folks, this Halloween I shall be rocking the vampire genre, Sookie Stackhouse style. Green Goo Gizmos has everything the budding sci fi fan could possibly want and some little gems you never even knew you wanted and the best thing about them is that, if they haven’t got it, they can usually find it for you.
There’s plenty of merchandise to be had at conventions, just remember to bring plenty of money to buy all those inevitable ‘must haves’ you’re going to find.
Big conventions like EMS are conveniently set out in sections and it’s quite easy to stay in one section for the whole day which is how I ended up completely bypassing Artists Alley, where you will often find your favourite comic book artist working away on the next big thing in graphic novels and, if you’re very lucky, you might pick up a one off signed drawing the way a friend of mine did.
Lee Townsend, of Spiderman and Marvel Heroes fame, is a frequent face at conventions and always has something awesome ready for fans who venture into his realm of genius. He’s known to take requests so, if you get the chance, go and say hi and you might end up going home with a Townsend masterpiece.
There are a few downsides to this kind of convention, the biggest drawback being the lack of seating and, at Earls Court in particular, the food is expensive and barely palatable; so be prepared for aching feet and empty bellies unless you bring your own food with you which is highly recommended. There are plenty of good pubs offering nice food just outside the venue and don’t worry about not being able to get back in, just get your hand stamped on the way out and you can come and go as you please.
After Lunch and an awful rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” on Rock Band in the Game Zone, that had passersby staring in sheer horror; I took refuge in the Cosplay Zone to watch the daily Cosplay Masquerade, giving my feet a much needed rest from all the walking. No convention would be complete without cosplayers; you really have to experience the effort and talent that goes into making some of the costumes to truly appreciate just how serious costuming is and at EMS I was not disappointed. I found myself in a sea of 11th Doctors, River Songs, Amy Ponds; even the TARDIS and Idris made an appearance.
Costuming is fast becoming a serious and valid art form in the UK and with a daily prize of £100; the cosplay masquerade had a lot of strong contenders vying for that top position of 'best in show'.
A special mention has to go the man who, as The 11th Doctor, gate crashed the proceedings whisking us off, for a just few moments, into the crazy world of a mad man with a box in preparation for that nights Doctor Who finale.
Of cosplaying the mad man himself, Steven said “It’s great fun. I love getting into character as The Doctor; the boundless energy he has. He’s a great character. It’s great being the mad man everyone loves” The one downside of Steven’s skit was that the audience didn’t get to see, due to him holding a microphone, just how very like the 11th Doctor his mannerisms are. In fact, I was told by many costumers there that he is the 11th Doctor.
At the end of each day the cosplayers gather together for a photoshoot and one thing that was surprising about EMS was how many non-cosplayers turned out to photograph the array of costumes on show.
On Sunday, the small cosplay zone was overrun with fans who had come to take photos of the cosplayers only to be surprised by the unexpected addition of celebrities that had shown up to take part in the fun. The crowd was so big that it spilled out of the cosplay zone, making it impossible for actors Paul McGann and Eve Myles to make it through to the stage. Of the actors who did make it, Ian McNeice took centre stage as the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him; to which he replied “I have only one thing to say ... Keep buggering on!” Just one of the many things that, for me, made Ian McNeice the star of this year’s Entertainment Media Show.
And now with the Entertainment Media Show over, it's time to start planning for the next big convention; Birmingham Memorabilia. As for whether I'm cosplaying..... watch this space!
5 comments:
well written and although i have never been to one of these things after reading this if ome comes to my town i might just give it a go
Terrific write up!! Being part of the Crew, I tend to miss 75% of what's going on at the shows, so reading blogs like this gives me a great insight. May have to take time off next time and join you guys!
I apologise to everyone who has left comments that aren't shown on here. Google seems to have sent your comments into the ether.
Thanks for reading xx
Very cool!
A brilliant review for a brilliant event love, so glad I went and this bought back so many nice memories.
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